Accounting majors are encouraged to meet with their assigned adviser during their first semester on campus to discuss interests and career goals and to begin planning a program of study that will help meet those goals. Discussions with an adviser afford an opportunity to explore career paths.
For the Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, a minimum of 120 credits is required. Students must earn a grade of C or better in each 300- and 400-level course in the major field. The major meets the requirements for taking the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) professional examinations in the state of Pennsylvania. Students wishing to pursue their CPA designation will be required to complete an additional 30 credit-hours of studies prior to, or within 5 years of, sucessful completion of the CPA examination.
Current Students: See the Recommended Academic Plans for more detailed course recommendations and refer to the University Bulletin for course descriptions and more degree requirements. Also be sure to check out Advice for Accounting Majors and find other resources on the Current Students page.
Students can also choose a concurrent major in Accounting and Finance or one in Accounting and Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies.
Typical Course Sequence
Below is a typical course sequence for the Accounting bachelor's degree program. Schedules will vary by student, depending on areas of interest.
| Semester 1 | Credits | Semester 2 | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculus | 4 | Effective Speech | 3 | |
| Rhetoric and Composition | 3 | Arts Course | 3 | |
| Humanities Course | 3 | Introduction to Microeconomics | 3 | |
| Natural Science Course | 1 | Natural Science Course | 3 | |
| Health and Physical Activity | 1.5 | Humanities Course | 3 | |
| First-Year Seminar | 1 | Total Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 15.5 | |||
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | |||
| Financial and Managerial Accounting | 4 | Writing for Business | 3 | |
| Arts course | 3 | Statistics | 4 | |
| Legal Environment of Business | 2 | Natural Science Course | 3 | |
| Social and Ethical Environment of Business | 2 | Introduction to Management Information Systems | 3 | |
| Introduction to Macroeconomics | 3 | Health and Physical Activity | 1.5 | |
| Total Credits | 14 | Total Credits | 14.5 | |
| Semester 5 | Semester 6 | |||
| Federal Income Taxation I | 3 | Intermediate Accounting II | 3 | |
| Intermediate Accounting I | 4 | Accounting Technology Lab | 3 | |
| Principles of Marketing | 3 | International Business Course | 3 | |
| Corporate Finance | 3 | Introduction to Operations Management | 3 | |
| Basic Management Concepts | 3 | Non-Business elective | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 16 | Total Credits | 15 | |
| Semester 7 | Semester 8 | |||
| Accounting Systems | 3 | Auditing Standards | 3 | |
| Cost Accounting | 3 | Business Strategy | 3 | |
| Federal Income Taxation II (example) | 2 | Advanced Accounting | 3 | |
| Non-Business elective | 3 | Advanced Management Accounting (example) | 3 | |
| Non-Business elective | 3 | Non-Business elective | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 15 | Total Credits | 15 | |